Is an ABBA reunion in the offing?

The Swedish quartet, one of the biggest-selling pop groups ever, is mulling how to mark its 40th anniversary next year

More than 30 years after disbanding, the members of ABBA are contemplating how to mark the group's 40th anniversary next year. Shown from left in this file photo are Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Frida Lyngstad and Benny Andersson.. EFE/Archives

More than 30 years after disbanding, the members of ABBA are contemplating how to mark the group's 40th anniversary next year. Shown from left in this file photo are Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Frida Lyngstad and Benny Andersson.. EFE/Archives

It's been 34 years since the Swedish quartet, one of the top-selling acts in pop-music history, performed a sold-out show at the San Diego Sports Arena, 30 years since the group disbanded and three years since it was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Now, worldwide buzz is growing that ABBA's members will get back together in some fashion next year to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the group's 1974 breakthrough hit, the Eurovision Song Contest-winning "Waterloo."

Just how, or if, those thoughts actually manifest remains to be seen, though. Accordingly, Faltskog was quick to hedge on specifics, saying: "There seem to be plans to do something to mark this anniversary in some way. But I can't say at this point what will come of them."

To date, ABBA has sold more than 380 million records worldwide. At one point, the group was second only to Volvo automobiles as Sweden's biggest global export. Such ABBA hits as "Dancing Queen," "S.O.S." and "Fernando" continue to be played in nightclubs around the world. The ABBA musical "Mama Mia!" has been an international hit for the past decade and inspired the hit movie of the same name, which starred Meryl Streep.

ABBA's final album, "The Visitors," came out in 1982. The quartet has since turned down highly lucrative offers to reunite.

In 2008, the four members of ABBA appeared together in public for the first time in decades at the Swedish premiere of the "Mama Mia!" movie.

Group co-founder Bjorn Ulvaeus said at the time that a reunion was highly unlikely. "We would like people to remember us as we were, young, exuberant and full of ambition," he told reporters.

In a 2003 U-T San Diego interview, Ulvaeus stressed that concerts were never the focal point of ABBA.

"Not important at all," he said. "We felt it was not our forte. It was more important to concentrate on (writing) the songs. Everything begins and ends with the songs."